Dangerous Playthings
by halcyon calamity
Summary: Classified Information: Welcome to The Capitol, an intelligence agency where failure is not an option and lives are never taken for granted. Follow all the rules, and you just might survive. Modern AU, featuring no-nonsense!Clove and hotshot!Cato.


_Okay, so I was rereading some of my favorite Cato/Clove fics earlier (if you want a recommendation that you probably haven't seen yet, read _**Misanthrope**_ by followsrabbit. It's so freaking good and not OOC that I really, really wish it would be updated) and this idea popped into my head. _

_Summary: Classified Information: Welcome to The Capitol, an intelligence agency where failure is not an option and lives are never taken for granted. Follow all the rules, and you just might survive. Modern AU, featuring no-nonsense!Clove and hotshot!Cato._

* * *

**CLASSIFIED INFORMATION**

AGENT PROFILE

NAME: Cato Heston

AGE: 22

DATE OF RECRUITMENT: July 27, 2008

DATE OF TRAINING COMPLETION: June 5, 2009.

DEPARTMENT: District 2 - Special Operations

CODENAME: Ares

BACKGROUND INFORMATION: Father - deceased since 2000. Mother - civilian, age 43, works as an accountant [see attached document for more information]. Siblings - younger sister, age 16, high school student [see attached]. Agent recruited summer after high school completion, diverted from U.S. Naval Academy after showing exceptional combat skills. Second-best recruit in batch.

STRENGTHS: Hand-to-hand combat, sniping, sword-fighting. Agent shows capability in leadership as leader of squad 4 during time at District 5, Team Operations. [See attached analysis.]

ASSIGNMENTS: [Need Level 4 Clearance to view in Records Room.]

COMMENTS: Currently a solo agent. Possibility of being moved to District 9 to train recruits. or placed with another partner/squad.

**CLASSIFIED INFORMATION**

AGENT PROFILE

NAME: Clove Forrester

AGE: 20

DATE OF RECRUITMENT: Unspecified.

DATE OF TRAINING COMPLETION: June 5, 2009.

DEPARTMENT: District 2 - Special Operations.

CODENAME: Eris.

BACKGROUND INFORMATION: Mother and father - retired agents [need Level 3 Clearance to view in Records Room]. Siblings - none. Agent not so much recruited as was born into her role, training from a young age at District 9 with those twice her age. Not officially initiated until age 17. Has always shown extreme promise, best graduate in batch.

STRENGTHS: Knives, sniping, extensive training in karate. Stellar speed and stamina. Agent has always done solo missions, on request. [See attached analysis.]

ASSIGNMENTS: [Need Level 4 Clearance to view in Records Room.]

COMMENTS: Possibility of being placed with partner or group to gauge teamwork/leadership skills.

_**Dangerous Playthings**_

_The true man wants two things: danger and play. For that reason he wants woman, as the most dangerous plaything. __~Friedrich Nietzsche_

Chapter 1

LOCATION: DISTRICT 3 - WEAPONRY

TIME: 0900 HOURS

"Hawthorne," Clove said, nodding to the dark-haired man as she entered the room.

"What up, Forrester?" Gale replied. "I already have what you need packed up for you, although you usually just return them unused anyway."

"What can I say? I like my knives. It hurts their feelings when I don't use them."

"You are a crazy-ass girl," Gale sighed shaking his head.

"And I can kick you ass too, even back in training," Clove responded, smirking. "Undersee not hanging around today? Usually I have to pull you guys apart while you suck face."

"Nah, she's actually healing over at District 12 for once. Recovery Center's short on staff this week. Catnip's mom is taking a vacation."

"Speaking of Katniss, mind telling me where she is? I'm supposed to pass along some information."

"She's probably over at Simulation, District 7. You know how she loves those trees."

"Thanks, Hawthorne," Clove said, picking up her case of weapons before exiting. "For that, I won't whoop your ass until I get back."

LOCATION: DISTRICT 7 - SIMULATION CHAMBER

TIME: 0912 HOURS

Clove edged closer to the window fo the Control Room to see Katniss in the Simulation Chamber, with the special goggles covering her eyes. Katniss was sitting on a slab of concrete, but she was probably actually seeing herself at the top of the tree, surveying the rest of the land. She'd always had an unhealthy obsession with hunting, Clove thought, sighing as she pressed the button to turn off the simulation.

Katniss took off the goggles and looked at the Control Room, her face lighting up when she saw Clove standing there. They didn't see much of each other anymore, with them working in different Departments.

Both Clove and Katniss had been born into The Capitol - the only difference was that Clove was born to agent parents in District 2, Special Operations, while Katniss' mother was the talented healer at District 12, the Recovery Center. At a young age, they had been the only two wandering the halls of The Capitol and had immediately forged an unbreakable friendship. When Katniss had chosen to not follow in her mother's footsteps and instead go into agent training, Clove had been the most supportive.

"Clove! I haven't seen you in days."

"Kat, hey. I just came to pass along some information. District 1 wants you helping out over at District 9 for a while. Apparently, this year's batch of recruits sucks more than usual," Clove said, grinning.

"Ugh," Katniss groaned, closing her eyes while rubbing her sore neck. "I hate spending time with the newbies. They never listen to me."

"It's better than helping out at District 10, thought. Interrogation is always a bitch, but Johanna makes it too painful for even me to handle."

"True, true," Katniss acknowledged. "Well, I should probably go shower and then head over. What are you up to?"

"New mission, what else?" Clove asked, gesturing towards the case of weapons in her hands. "It's okay, they. I have until 9:30 before I head over to District 11 for mission prep, and then District 6 for transport."

"We'll miss you," Katniss said soberly. Although Clove talked about missions light-heartedly, there was no guarantee that she was coming back alive.

"Don't worry. This should be a total piece of cake."

LOCATION: OUTSIDE DISTRICT 6 - VEHICLES AND TRANSPORTATION

TIME: 1030 HOURS

"I assume your assignment was completed without any complications?"

"Yes, sir."

"Good. I'll expect that mission report on my desk at 1200 hours. You're dismissed. You will be taken off the active duty list for a week."

"Thank you, sir."

_Click._Cato grunted as he closed his cell phone and headed down the hallway toward District 6, Vehicles and Transportation. It was time for him to get a new ride. He was thinking Beetee would let him take a Lamborghini this time, or the black Ferrari that he especially liked... and then he could go home and sleep off his jet lag. He really hated missions in Asia.

"You're blocking the doorway," a voice said flatly behind him.

Cato turned around to look at the speaker. She was gorgeous really. Thick long hair that cascaded to mid-back, a sharp but still pretty face, a lithe body that was showcased by her rather revealing clothes. The Capitol was a big agency, and it was entirely possible that she was new, or he had never met her before.

"Hey there," he said, grinning. "What's a beautiful girl like you doing at an agency like this? Are you sure you aren't lost? How about you and I get out of here together."

The girl just stared back at him. Was that... amusement in her eyes? "Heston, I'm actually short on time. I have 17 weapons hidden uncomfortably on my body and I would really appreciate it if I could get through. If it comes to it, I'll remove you with physical force."

Cato snorted. "Sorry to inform you, but I'm kind of a big deal around here. I highly doubt you could knock me down."

"Well, I did it more than once a few years ago in training, and I can do it again," she said, stomping on his foot with her death-trap shoes. In his moment of pain, she shoved him out of the way and typed the code into the door, opening it.

"Sorry Wiress, an asshole held me up," Cato heard her say, before the steel door swung shut and the hallway was filled with silence.

_Was that... Clove Forrester?_

* * *

_Okay, so here's a list of the departments with The Capitol, which is the overall agency. I'll go into detail about what they actually do later, although some are pretty obvious._

_District 1 - the authority. aka Director Snow and his council._  
_District 2 - Special Operations. _  
_District 3 - Weapons. _  
_District 4 - Records._  
_District 5 - Team Operations_  
_District 6 - Vehicles and Transportation._  
_District 7 - Simulation Chamber._  
_District 8 - Strategic Planning. _  
_District 9 - Training Center_  
_District 10 - Interrogation._  
_District 11 - Mission Preparation._  
_District 12 - Recovery Center._

_So, what do you think? Do you think I should continue this? If so, leave a review?_


End file.
